iPhone 8, 8 Plus Users Report Poor Mic Volume During Calls

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have been around for almost two months and they have been largely well received by reviewers and buyers alike.

In a world where the iPhone X loomes large, the two phones are still very capable options for those who simply do not want to spend upwards of $1000, but as with so many big releases, the pair are not without their issues.

One of the issues that appears to be gaining some traction on Apple’s own support forums relates to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and their microphone. In particular, users are reporting that people on the other end of call simply cannot hear what they are saying unless the microphone is positioned a particular way. Any mild deviation in position, apparently, results in the person on the other end of the call simply not being able to make out what is being said.

As the thread starter on Apple’s discussions forum points out, using speakerphone solves the problem, which is not so much a fix as a semi-valid workaround.

Just got a new iPhone 8 (updated to ios 11.0.2) upgraded from iPhone 6. When making a call if not talking directly into the mic the person on the other end cannot hear me (or my voice volume is drastically lower). This occurs when even slightly moving the phone away from my mouth or rotating the phone slightly up or down. My father has the same problem with his iPhone 8, even returned it and got a new one, same problem. Switching to speaker phone solves the problem.

The thread is full of people reporting the same, or very similar issues across both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus lineup, with some also reporting that a hardware replacement does not always solve the issue. More worrying, there are also reports of people getting short shrift from Apple’s Geniuses, with at least one being told that they will simply “have to live with it.”

The thread was started on October 5th and continues to receive new posts with users experiencing the same issue. Hopefully, Apple knows what is going on and newer iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus purchases will not exhibit the same problems. As of right now, Apple isn’t saying either way.

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I have the same problem with iPhone 7 Plus from iOS 11.1. I have to keep the phone attached to my cheek, otherwise the person on the other side can’t hear me.

John Goh

My iPhone 6 also has this exact same problem on iOS 10.3.3. It really annoying when the other side could not hear properly what I am saying. Further searching google and found that 7 and 8 users also experience this.

Moby Inayet

I bought 8+ and it has a muffled voice. People in the other end constantly ask me to speak louder or complain that they can’t hear me. They say that it seems I am calling them sitting in a tunnel. Some people on the other end said that I was “breaking up” and sounded like I was underwater. Turning the speaker phone helps a bit but the voice quality still suffers.

Some suggested it may be because of Freedom Mobile Network issues. I switched to Fido but the problem persists.
This phone was bought from local Apple store back in October, 2017.

Can any body suggest a solution? I read on Google that many other users are having the same issue with their iPhone 8s.